Can I bring elderly Sri Lankan father with me to France?

Reader question: I hold both British and French citizenship and want to bring my 86-year-old father to France. He is a Sri Lankan citizen only, and I would support him financially. Can he move permanently if we want more than a visit?

If your father just comes for a visit, Sri Lankan citizens do not benefit from the 90/180 days visa-free access that some other nationals have. This is the case even if other family members (such as you) have French citizenship.

He would need to apply for a short-stay Schengen visa from Sri Lanka in advance of his travel, including proof of return journey, medical insurance, etc.

For a more permanent move, him being the father of a French citizen also does not automatically allow him to move to France.

Britons in France covered by the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement can have a dependent parent move to France to stay with them and, legally speaking, if this applies to you (eg. because you applied for a WA card and then later become French), you could claim these rights even if you no longer have a card.

However, the more obvious route as the father of a French citizen would be for him to apply for a vie privée et familiale visa, but again only if you can show he is dependent on you, and was already dependent on your help where he lives. 

You would need to prove that he does not have the financial means to support himself in Sri Lanka and that you regularly send money to him.

Your father would have to have income of his own considered less than what is needed to live on in Sri Lanka.

In this case he could obtain a three-month long-stay visa which can then be converted into a 10-year carte de résident with an application to the prefecture.

Alternatively, he could apply for a visitor visa that has to be renewed annually (at least for the first five years) if he has independent means (such as pensions) to support himself. 

For more information on the exact requirements, use the French visa wizard.